Flat, rectangular panels can only be arranged in so many ways and always look industrial, boring, and out of place. So I decided to build a functional, but more aesthetically pleasing version of a USB solar charger.

I call my creation the "Solar Shrub". It's designed to resemble a round-leafed plant in a flower pot, but unlike a real plant, this one can charge my iPod, iPhone, and any other USB chargeable device!

I used eight 1.5 Volt round solar cells (leaves) attached to shrink-wrapped wires and clothes hangers (stems) to create an array capable of producing 5 Volts at about 300mA. I wired two sets of four cells in series (to get the voltage) and then wired the two arrays together in parallel (to get the current). I stabilized the power by building a 5 Volt Regulator circuit, then added an on/off switch, power LED, and female USB connector.

Now you can build one too! Just follow these instructions, then put it in sunlight, flip the toggle switch, and plug in your favorite USB device!

Would you be able to add a battery, so that it could charge the battery and then plug the device in to charge later when the sun goes down? I'm thinking this would be great for camping, you could put it out next to your tent or whatever and let it charge the battery, then charge your phone later when the sun goes down.

Great project! I built it according to what you had except i can not get a steady 2V out. When i try to charge a device it charges for a split second then turns off then turns on again and so on. Any suggestions? I tried to add another cap to keep that voltage up but with no success.

This original version of the Solar Shrub had the limitation that it only charges when in direct sunlight. It's also important that the cells are wired in the correct configuration to give you more than 5 volts. Otherwise, the regulator cannot produce a steady output.

For a more robust design, please take a look at the Solar Shrub II (my second attempt) [http://www.instructables.com/id/Solar-Shrub-II/] it has more power and an internal lithium battery. So it can store a charge and be used with little or no sunlight. Cheers!

No problem. As solar power is not 100% constant it helps to have some sort of storage in the mix to smooth out the incoming power flow. Or, if for nothing else, a random cloud comes by.

More or less you could add about 6V worth of super capacitor after the 5V regulator (you always want more cap than you'll need). The super caps wouldn't store an insane amount of power, but enough to keep things moving smoothly.

Or add a bunch of AAA rechargeable (5 or 6 of them actually) before the 5V regulator.

Send me a PM. I received a whole bunch of random super caps as samples awhile back and they're just taking up space. I'd be happy to send you a couple for this project.

Thanks for your comment! I don't think it's weatherproof, but it could be pretty easily. Since the electronics are hidden beneath the CD, I think if you put some silicon sealer around it and in the center, it should be able to withstand a bit of weather.